Ties That Bond
by Dekora
Summary: It had been none of her business, but she'd just wanted to know. What was her reason for dueling? Everyone here seemed to have one, a passion. Sororshipping. Isis Ishtar x Jounouchi Shizuka.


**Ties That Bond**  
written by Your Darling Mana  
_for Cecilia (Anime-Fan Meepa)_

**Disclaimer;** I do not own Yuugiou.  
**Author's Note;** My first try at writing this pairing, but it's cute, so I thought I'd give it a try. Also my first almost-shoujo-ai in a while. So, sorry for mistakes.

Ties That Bond

Bronze fingers ran over the eye of the Sennen Necklace, Isis giving the door a worried look. She knew who was on the other side, beautiful girl she'd only had the pleasure of seeing once before. They'd never spoken. If anything, they'd nodded to each other. A sign of recognition -- recognition that didn't really exist. They knew nothing about each other. The only thing they had (and actually _knew _they had) in common was that they were in the same place, on the same "battleship". They weren't even there for the same reason -- Isis was there to compete and her visitor there to support. Support who, Isis didn't know.

_Knock, knock, knock._ Isis stood, gripping the doorknob now. Her necklace had informed her of the visit, of the question that came with it, but nothing about the girl. With a deep breath, she opened the door, expression calm and collected. She wore a welcoming smile, bowing her head. "Good evening."

Shizuka's smile was more nervous -- had she made a mistake in coming? She knew nothing about this woman, had let her curiousity get the best of her, but even so, she couldn't exactly turn back now. "Good evening..." Her cheeks tinted pink; she didn't even know this woman's name. "I'm Jounouchi Shizuka." Shyly, she extended her hand.

"Isis," came the response from the taller woman as she took Shizuka's hand. She left out the last name, a minor detail that barely caught Shizuka's attention. Her hand instinctively moved back to the eye of her necklace.

"Isis-san," Shizuka murmured, giving a quick nod. "I'm sorry to bother you, I--"

"Did you say Jounouchi?"

Eyes widened a moment before Shizuka gave a proud smile; there was a comfortable topic. "Yes! I'm here to support my big brother."

Isis' smile was now sad -- perhaps they had more in common than she had originally thought. "That's sweet," she murmured, moving now to close the door (had she really gotten so distracted that she'd left it open?). "Please," she motioned to a chair by the window, "sit."

Shizuka obeyed, almost sinking into the large chair. "I... I came to ask you something, actually."

Isis nodded, taking her own seat across from Shizuka. Just as she'd seen it. "I know. To be honest..." She hesitated; Shizuka made her feel oddly comfortable but even so, could she really trust a complete stranger? Even someone as sweet as Shizuka? No, that wasn't in her nature, in the 'programming' that made her Isis.

The fact that she'd cut herself off made Shizuka nervous. Had she done something wrong? "Isis-san?"

"... I am here for my brother as well." The words came out of her mouth and she lowered her head, ashamed.

"Your brother?" The confession only made Shizuka more curious. Her original intention had been to learn about this woman, the duelist that skipped all of the group meetings, the announcements for the duels. It had been none of her business, but she'd just wanted to _know_. What was her reason for dueling? Everyone here seemed to have one, a passion.

Isis gave a bitter chuckle, one that caught the red-haired girl offguard. "Yes, to save him." She turned her gaze to Shizuka; there was no harm in saying it, no reason to keep it a secret. "My full name is Isis Ishtar."

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Ishtar? She was Malik's sister, here for him. Finally, Shizuka broke the silence, "My brother duels him tomorrow." It seemed more appropriate then what she was really thinking -- how horrible Malik had been, how he'd hurt _her_ brother, hurt everyone, and now how he must have hurt Isis.

Isis, of course, knew the truth; the man Jounouchi would be dueling was not her brother, not Malik, only Malik's shadow. "I can assure you, tomorrow your brother will defeat his opponent." She offered no further explanation; she would (and could) not condemn her baby brother.

It was Shizuka's turn to flash a sad smile. "You said you wanted to save him? I can tell Nii-san; he'll help us!"

Isis quickly shook her head. "Please, keep this our secret for the time being. Malik... Malik does not know I'm here. It's for the best right now." For her own protection, really. She sotod, extending her hand to Shizuka, "It's getting late. You should rest for tomorrow." Her mind shifted to the 'us' that Shizuka had uttered earlier, how she'd referred to both of them at once, how she had _cared_. "It has truly been a pleasure to meet you and I know we'll speak again soon."

Shizuka took the hand, standing as well, and looked up at Isis. "I'll keep your secret." That said, Shizuka leaned in, wrapping her arms around the elder woman. "I will come visit you again soon, I promise." The shorter girl stood on her tip toes and kissed Isis' cheek, a friendly, trusting motion that called the Egyptian woman to blush just barely. Quickly pulling away, Shizuka gave a, "good-night!" and left; Isis remained standing there a moment, stunned.

"Good-night, Shizuka-san."

End Ties That Bond

**End Note: **I'm not sure I got characterization right for either girl, but I tried, so I hope you enjoyed it:) Please excuse spelling and grammar errors as well as typos. I typed this up quickly and should have, more likely that not, had someone beta read. Oh well!


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